Look Beyond Theories
Students spend time learning theories and get disoriented when they face real-world situations. Immersed in scholastics they lose sight of opportunities. The key is to get some practical experience outside your college such as taking courses that require project- and community-based activities.
Summer is Cool
Summer is a great time to do some career exploration and investigate alternate career paths. You can be working in a summer research position or teaching assistantship to secure your future. Think what are the one or two areas in which you would most like to develop this summer. Set out a concrete plan for doing so, even if it's just a few hours a week, and you may find that you achieve more over the summer than you ever expected. Summer is also a great time to work on your presentation skills. As a relative newcomer to graduate school, you may not have had many chances to present your work in public. Able to speak in public confidently is an essential skill in academe that requires sustained practice.
Professional School
Go to a professional graduate school if you are sure you want it. Otherwise get a job or do a one- or two-year service commitment, such as Teach for America, the Peace Corps or thousands of other similar options. Getting a job is little more than a graduate school as you you tend to learn more, build your resume and best of all you get paid instead of paying to a graduate program. Skills come by working not by rote learning.
Social Service is Great
A great source of skill development and job exploration is by doing social service work. Giving back to one's community helps a lot both careerwise and from a personal point of view. Essentially it complements your degree and is undoubtedly a invaluable experience -- whether as a volunteer or being a professional .
